Mushroom Walnut Bolognese

Ingredients

1 small yellow onion, or ½ large yellow onion
1 celery rib
½ large carrot (if keto, omit carrot and double celery)
2 cloves garlic
olive oil, as needed
10 oz fresh mushrooms
1 cup walnuts
3 tbsp tomato paste
12 oz passata tomatoes
a few fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Roughly chop onions, carrot, celery, and garlic. Add them to a food processor and pulse until a “rough pulp” is formed (approx. 30 seconds - 1 minute of pulsing).
Drizzle olive oil in a large saucepan, and when hot, add mirepoix (onion, carrot, celery, garlic combo).
Sprinkle a pinch of salt, and sweat down the veggies until they start to golden.
While it’s cooking, roughly chop mushrooms and add them to the 1 cup line of the filter basket. Add water to the 500mL line of the collector cup, and using the collector cup method, make mushroom milk. Empty the mushroom pulp into a bowl (do not throw away), and repeat until all the mushrooms have been used! Be sure to never change the liquid in the collector cup throughout this process.
When finished with the mushrooms, add walnuts to the 1 cup line of the filter basket, and make walnut milk (with the mushroom milk still inside the collector cup). If you notice the liquid is below the 500mL line, add the mushroom pulp into the collector cup until the liquid is at the 500mL line.
Pour the pulp and the milk all into the same bowl, and pour into a saucepan. Cook for about 8-10 minutes on high heat.
Once your mirepoix is ready, add tomato paste, and cook for a few minutes.
Add Passata tomatoes and mushroom/walnut milk/pulp mixture from the saucepan. Stir well, and bring to a boil.
Add thyme, oregano, bay leaf, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper, and stir. Lower heat, and simmer for at least 30 minutes. If it starts to dry out, add water as needed!
When ready, taste and adjust salt & pepper if needed. Remove thyme and bay leaf (any loose stems), and serve over pasta!